Patricia Richardson is shooting down former costar Tim Allen‘s campaign for the chance of a Home Improvement reboot with the original cast, including Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
During an appearance on the Friday, March 29, episode of the “Back to the Best” podcast, Richardson, 73, explained why getting the OG cast back together would never work, adding that it was “weird” seeing Allen, 70, “coming out publicly and saying stuff about everyone was on board to do a Home Improvement reunion.”
“He never asked me and he never asked [on-screen son] Jonathan [Taylor Thomas], who I talk to,” she claimed. “I called Jonathan one day, I said, ‘Has he asked you about this?’ And he went, ‘No, why is he going around telling everybody that we’re all on board when he hasn’t talked to you or me. I think that’s weird.’”
Allen previously told now-defunct news site The Messenger that he and Richard Karn (who portrayed Tool Time co-host Al Borland), along with Allen’s onscreen kids, “keep talking about a spinoff,” via Entertainment Weekly.
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Richardson continued, “Zachery [Ty Bryan] is now a felon. Taran [Noah Smith] hasn’t acted since he left the show, he’s not an actor anymore. Jonathan’s not really interested in acting, he wants to direct and write. And we don’t have Wilson.”
Earl Hindman, who portrayed the Taylor family’s quirky neighbor who peered over the fence and offered advice to the family, died in 2003 after being diagnosed with lung cancer, his wife Molly McGreevy confirmed to the New York Times. He was 61. Bryan, meanwhile, was arrested for suspected DUI with three or more priors in February. TMZ reported in March 2024 that Bryan was charged with a felony after the arrest.
“So if they did it without Earl and also just two kids, probably, if that, it’s not gonna be the show at all,” Richardson continued. “People think we can just magically go back to who we were 30 years ago and do a show that was 30 years ago. And we’ve all changed quite a bit, I think, since then. And the show, it would be very weird. I think we did it, we did it well, we quit at the right time before it got really bad and it should just stay like it is.”
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Home Improvement premiered in September 1991 and ran for eight seasons, with the show’s series finale airing in May 1999.
Richardson starred as Jill Taylor, the wife of Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, famously portrayed by Allen. Bryan, 42, Thomas, 42, and Smith, 39, portrayed their three children, Brad, Randy and Mark, respectively.
Richardson earned an impressive four Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998 for her role on the show. She was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1994 and 1995.
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The show itself earned numerous awards at various award shows throughout its run, including the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, People’s Choice Awards, TV Guide Awards and more.
Despite her issues with Allen’s talk of a reboot for Home Improvement, Richardson did make a cameo on Allen’s Last Man Standing on two episodes in 2015 and 2016. Thomas also appeared, portraying John Baker for four episodes from 2013 to 2015. He also directed multiple episodes.
